What is gonorrhoea?
Gonorrhoea is a type of sexually transmitted infection (STI). It’s one of the most common STIs in the UK. It can affect anyone who is sexually active. So how can you tell if you have gonorrhoea, and how is it treated? I’ll explain more about this common STI here.

What are the symptoms of gonorrhoea?
Many people with genital gonorrhoea don’t have any symptoms at all. But if you do have symptoms, they’ll usually appear within two to 10 days of infection. Gonorrhoea symptoms can include:
- an unusual discharge from your penis or vagina- this could be white, yellow or green
- pain when you pee, or difficultly passing urine
- painful or swollen testicles
Some symptoms can occur when the vaginal tract is infected. These include:
- pain in your lower belly (abdomen)
- pain when you have sex
- heavier periods
- bleeding between periods or when you have sex
You can have a gonorrhoea infection in your rectum (part of the large intestine connecting the bowel to the anus). This can cause pain, discomfort, itching, and discharge from your anus.
If you get the infection in your eyes, it can cause conjunctivitis. You may have pain, swelling and discharge from the affected eye. A gonorrhoea infection in your throat can occasionally cause a sore throat.
How serious is gonorrhoea?
Gonorrhoea is easily treated. But it can cause serious complications if it’s left untreated. These can include:
- problems affecting your reproductive organs. This includes the fallopian tubes and womb.
- reduced fertility or infertility.
- problems with your joints and skin.
Getting treatment early means gonorrhoea is unlikely to cause these problems.
What causes gonorrhoea?
Gonorrhoea is an infection caused by a bacteria. You can get it from having unprotected vaginal, anal, or oral sex with an infected person.
It can affect your:
- genital area
- throat
- rectum
- eyes
When should you get tested for gonorrhoea?
It’s important to get tested as soon as you can if you think you might have symptoms of gonorrhoea. You should also have a test if you think you could have been exposed to an STI. Even if you don’t have any symptoms. This might be if you’ve had unprotected sex with a new partner, or if a regular partner tells you they have an STI.
How do you get tested for gonorrhoea?
Gonorrhoea tests may involve giving a urine sample. You might also need (often self-taken) swabs from your vagina, rectum, or throat. Sometimes a health professional will need to take specific gonorrhoea swabs from the:
- penis
- vagina
- rectum
- throat
There are several ways to get a test. You can go to a genitourinary medicine (GUM) or sexual health clinic. In several areas now you can have a self-test kit posted to your address. Or you can ask at your GP practice. You can also pay for tests at a private clinic.
How is gonorrhoea treated?
Gonorrhoea is treated with antibiotics. You may be offered gonorrhoea treatment before your test results are back. This is likely if your partner has a confirmed diagnosis of gonorrhoea. You usually take the antibiotics as an injection. But, depending on which type of gonorrhoea you have, you can sometimes have these as tablets.
Telling others
It’s important to let any current and recent partners know that you have gonorrhoea. The staff at the clinic can help you to do this. They will always keep your details confidential. It’s best not to have sex until at least a week after both you and your partner have finished treatment.
How can I reduce my risk or getting or passing on gonorrhoea?
There are many things you can do to lower your risk of getting or passing on gonorrhoea. This will also reduce your chance of getting other sexually transmitted infections.
- Use a condom during vaginal, oral, or anal sex with the penis. Female condoms are also becoming more widely available.
- During oral sex, a latex square (dental dam) can be used to cover the anus and vaginal opening, including the area around it.
- Don’t share sex toys. If you do, wash them well or cover them with a new condom before anyone else uses them.
Before you have unprotected sex with somebody new, have a test for gonorrhoea and other STIs.
Hello, I'm Dr Naveen Puri, I'm one of the GPs at Bupa Health Clinics. Today I'd like to talk to you about presenting with problems that may be of a sexual health nature.
We know that people can often feel embarrassed talking about their sexual health for fear of judgement. Some shame or embarrassment may accompany your concerns, but please let me assure you, as doctors, we've heard it all before.
Any concerns you have we've come across on many occasions and we're here to offer you a judgement and pain-free service in as far as we possibly can.
It's in your interest to tell us all your symptoms so we can help you get better and prevent any consequences that might come into play if you don't seek out help for your condition sooner rather than later.
We know for example some untreated infections can lead to problems with fertility. They can lead to pelvic inflammatory diseases or severe infection of the testicles so rather than you getting worse and your symptoms progressing to something more serious, let us know sooner rather than later so we can help you.
In terms of accessing sexual health services, there are many ways young can do this. We offer the services within Bupa and you can also access the services within the NHS as well.
Some people like to go to a walk-in service where they can turn up and wait for an appointment, others prefer to book an appointment in advance and that way they know when they're going to be seen and arrive at the clinic in an appropriate time frame as well.
I'd also say there's nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about, we have seen and heard all of the symptoms before.
The kind of things people come to us with range from pain during intercourse, a discharge, either from the penis or the vagina, or other symptoms such as abdominal pain, a sore throat or other things that could occur after an infection is acquired.
So, whatever it might be, let us do the detective work for you. Let us know what your symptoms are.
Feel free to bring someone with you if you'd like, write your problems down so you can discuss them with us. Or use the language you want to as well, we don't expect you to know the medical terms for things we can help you with that as well.
And hopefully, together we can get to the bottom of whatever your issue is, and we can provide you with an appropriate treatment or cure if that is available as well.
We offer a range of sexual health services within our Bupa Health Centres. So whether you have symptoms and need to speak to a GP or don't have symptoms but want a check to see if you currently have an STI we have a check to suit you. Any customers who test positive receive a follow up with a GP and support from our 24/7 Nurse HealthLine. Learn more today.
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Sources Sources
- Gonorrhoea. Definition. NICE Clinical Knowledge Summaries. NICE. cks.nice.org.uk, last accessed November 2024
- Sexually transmitted infections and screening for chlamydia in England, 2023 report. Public Health England. assets.publishing.service.gov, updated July 2024
- Gonorrhoea. Signs and symptoms in a man. NICE Clinical Knowledge Summaries. NICE. cks.org.uk, accessed November 2024
- Gonorrhoea. Signs and symptoms in a woman. NICE Clinical Knowledge Summaries. NICE. cks.org.uk, accessed November 2024
- Gonorrhoea. Complications. NICE Clinical Knowledge Summaries. NICE. cks.nice.uk, accessed November 2024
- Gonorrhoea infection. Aetiology. BMJ Best Practice. bestpractice.bjm.com, accessed November 2024
- Sexually transmitted infections (STIs): annual data tables. Table 2: new STI diagnoses and rates by gender, sexual risk, age group and ethnic group, 2019 to 2023. Public Health England. gov.uk, last updated July 2024
- Gonorrhoea. Confirmation of diagnosis. NICE Clinical Knowledge Summaries. NICE. cks.nice.org.uk, accessed November 2024
- British Association for Sexual Health and HIV national guideline for the management of infection with Neisseria gonorrhoeae. British Associaiton for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH). bashguidelines.org, accessed November 2024
- Gonorrhoea. Scenario: Managment. NICE Clinical Knowledge Summaries.NICE. cks.org.uk, accessed November 2024
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